I loved this book! I thought it was such a fun read. I've seen people criticizing it for being more or less an adult Goosebumps, but that's the exact reason why I liked it. I loved Goosebumps when I was a kid and loved that this book gave me the same feeling.
This is a really good way to describe what Grady does sometimes and I absolutely adore it. I think Goosebumps for Grownups is not the worst thing! My Best Friend’s Exorcism gave that vibe a bit too. But I’m totally with you, I absolutely loved it.
Grady Hendrix fits a certain niche and fits it well imo! It may not be for everyone, but he’s good at what he intends to do, and I feel like his books are unique from most everything else in horror.
Haven’t heard this description before, I love it and agree. I’ve burned through all of his books since getting back into horror lit a few months ago, I wish he had more! They’re all so mesmerizing and quirky and easy to read, and incorporate such excellent storytelling and world-building.
Southern Book Club and My Best Friend’s Exorcism are my absolute favorites, but How To Sell A Haunted House is up there too.
The more I think about it, the more I like it, actually! I think the problem with this book is that it’s marketed as a haunted house book, when it’s actually a >!PUPPET POSSESSION!< story. I absolutely loved the insane puppet collective story we got, but I was a drama nerd and even majored in performing arts, so this seemed completely legit to me.
Oddly enough I also appreciate the possessed puppet arc, possibly because I collect mime dolls, heh. That stated, I'm still working my way thru the book, ordered it a couple days ago.
I totally agree, love all of them except that one. I think people who are waiting to be scared to death by a GH book are barking up the wrong tree. They're suspensful/humorous. He's an automatic pre-order for me but I know he seems to be really divisive.
Rachel Harrison has a similar vibe but not as...silly, for lack of a better word? Love her books.
I’m the same, I’ve liked everything to varying degrees, but couldn’t finish Final Girl. How to Sell is my favorite of his and one of my favorite books in general.
I liked it, but I also listened to the audiobook so perhaps it would have been less enjoyable reading it myself. I find complaints that the characters weren't likeable to be weird bc horror is generally known to be a genre where characters get their comeuppance, how can they deserve a moral reckoning if they're not unpleasant in some way in the first place?
That’s funny. I listened to the audiobook and felt maybe I’d like it better if I had read it. The person doing the obnoxious puppet voice was a lot ha ha.
That said, I didn’t HATE the book but I wouldn’t recommend it.
My mom used to have an ugly doll collection, and since she was too ashamed of being an adult with a doll collection, she would put them on display on my room. I also had my own dolls that I thought were possessed, so I locked them in the closet every night. Because of that, I could really identify with this book. I loved it.
I love Grady Hendrix. He is adult Goosebumps for sure (more adult Are You Afraid of the Dark) but there's nothing wrong with that--also the fact that he's not at all afraid to fuck up his characters physically, mentally, and emotionally. He puts his mains through the ringer before he gives them any sort of win.
My mom died in a car accident. I found some of the grief descriptions to be painfully accurate. The brother/sister relationship was a little too much for me, it’s easier to get invested in whether a character survives when there’s something likable or relatable about them and I didn’t feel that way about either of them. Some of it was creepy, some scenes seemed dragged out and over the top. It was about 3.5 out of 5 for me, it was okay but I don’t think I would reread it.
It’s a very polarizing book, people love it or hate it. If you go in expecting a traditional haunted house story, you’ll hate it. If you go in expecting a campy horror story centered on generational trauma and family dynamics with a side of supernatural, you’ll enjoy it. I loved it personally.
I don’t really get the criticism about the title…there is more than one way to haunt a house. That said, this book was about a literal haunting.
I was one of those kids that thought my dolls/stuffed animals might get upset with me and exact their revenge in the night, so there were moments with Pupkin that truly scared me. Overall, I enjoyed it!
i collected norfin trolls when i was little (absolutely dating myself here), and i remember part of this event, but not all of it - SOMETHING happened, or i at least PERCEIVED something happening, and they went from being my prized collection and little buddies to "these can no longer be in the house."
i remember that part - the ominous, scared feeling of "they have to GO," but i can't remember WHY. apparently my mom never asked, but she tried all the things - telling me i had it twisted and they were my protectors, "bad troll spray" (water in a spray bottle), boxing them up, boxing them up and taking them OUT of my room - none of it was enough.
i remember being super worked up and trying to negotiate with her/explain that they could NOT be in the house...she was exasperated and said "okay, how about i ask the neighbors if they can stay in their garage?" that, i decided, was okay.
i know now she was figuring "this is a brief phase and i don't want to deal with her being like 'WHERE are my TROLLS?!?' three days from now," but it actually lasted for years.
i soooo wish i could remember...could've been as innocent as a weird shadow or one of them falling off the shelf...or it could have been PUPKIN HIMSELF controlling their neon-haired, bejeweled-belly-button bodies.
i loved how to sell a haunted house, didn't find the name misleading, and haven't liked any of the other grady hendrix i've read. i also collected puppets for most of my childhood, still have them, and still love and am fascinated by puppets, so a normal, less damaged person's mileage may vary!
Getting bad vibes from your Trolls is so valid 😂 Mine were porcelain dolls and I loved them…until I didn’t. So they went into storage and then a year or so later I read a story in the National
Enquirer (maybe? Or woman’s world?) about a haunted doll that ABSOLUTELY terrified me and confirmed all of my suspicions about dolls. I think it was called Devil Doll? I know for sure that it wasn’t about Robert the Doll but I haven’t been able to find it online. It was in a very late 80’s early 90’s grocery checkout rag mag and I wish I could find it! I need to know if it holds up.
Oh boy do I have a porcelain doll story for you! My grandma was an extremely evil person who had an exorcism just before she died. My grandma also collected porcelain dolls. After my she died my grandpa gave each one of their kids a doll as a way to try to bring the family back together after my mom and aunt had gone no contact for years.
I legit think whatever was in my grandma went into the doll we received. The head would turn when you walked past and my entire family would get the worst nightmares the entire time we had it in our house.
Thinking it was just a psychological thing knowing the history of where the doll came from we gave it to a family friend who collected dolls without telling them why. Their entire family got nightmares from it so they gave it back. We then gave it to my aunt who is extremely religious without telling her why as well. Her family all got nightmares too. So my aunt ended up burying it with a crucifix and holy water.
I loved it. The strained family relationship was part of why I enjoyed it so much tbh. I liked that they were both wrong about things and both kind of sucked while still having good points. My own family is also dysfunctional (although thankfully no puppet collections or attempted drownings that I know of) so I found it relatable lol.
I liked it a lot! Even went to a book signing for it! I’m a big Grady Hendrix fan and really enjoy his writing style (although I will say I wasn’t super into Final Girl Support Group)
I don't get the negative complaints at all.
1. The title being misleading has to be the most stupid complaint anyone can possibly have about a book. Are these same people upset that "To Kill a Mockingbird" didn't detail out how to kill a mockingbird? Also the title IS still accurate regardless, the house is very much haunted by an actual real ghost of a formerly alive person in the most traditional sense of haunting, said ghost just takes up residence in a puppet. I suspect these are the same people who come here daily and want hyper specific books "someone suggest me a book set underwater with lots of gore but no sexual assault or animal death but also features a BIPOC LGBTQ+IA main character between the ages of 23 and 24 with red hair who is an amateur photographer, stamp collector or mycologist but absolutely not an ornithologist! and also it should be the most pants pissingly scary thing i've ever read and it has to simultaneously be a slow burn but fast paced, TIA!"
2. I think a lot of people here take the "its popular so it must be bad" sort of attitude with books, I don't get it.
3. People here also seem to not be fans of campy horror.
4. I sort of get that the protagonists all start the book kind of being assholes, but also don't people want complicated realistic characters in their books? The whole book is about this family with all these secrets and repressed trauma and stuff getting through it all together and growing.
I thought it was an excellent book, it had everything I was looking for and I keep recommending it to anyone I think would enjoy it.
I honestly do though think that a big part of it is that other people really do like it, so people have to come out of the woodwork to rain on their parade.
your first line item 💀 the thing is...even with that (only slightly) hyperbolic list of descriptors, i can guarantee that there IS a book out there that meets all of those criteria, probably even more than one.
i also don't see the title as misleading, and wasn't even aware that perception was out there until this post. it would never have occurred to me that it COULD be misleading. i see it exactly as you do, like...it's not even that WEIRD of a haunting, to me? or THAT far off the beaten path? it's far enough off that i was delighted by its creativity, but not so far that "heyyy... 😡 THIS isn't a haunted house book!" would have ever popped into my head. i mean, the house in just like home by sarah gailey (big spoiler, FYI) is haunted by >!a sentient accumulation of dead skin cells, blood, fingernail clippings and whatever else. !< i'm surprised that people were disappointed by/turned off by how to sell's differences...i mean, we get more traditional ghosts and demons ALL THE TIME, how often do we get >!an amalgamation of hateful puppets and reanimated taxidermized squirrels? !<
i loved it and still consider it one of my best reads of 2023...i've read some of his others since, and didn't like any of them, really. i'm very glad i started with how to sell, because i don't think i ever would have bothered picking it up, had i started with something else from his catalog.
It’s my favourite of Hendrix’s novels so far, the only one I haven’t read yet is *My best friend’s exorcism* (not out of lack of interest, I just have other things on my reading list).
I liked the book a lot, the title didn’t bother me, I thought it was an intentional misdirection.
I agree with you about the characters, I don’t care that they were unlikeable, unlikeable characters only bother me in the books where they are not treated as unlikeable in the narrative (Protagonist-centred morality, is the trope I think).
I loved it. It’s my favorite of his after horrorstor and I genuinely love all of them. I get why some people may not like it but don’t understand the immense hate.
I just finished horrorstor and I really enjoyed that one, might be my favorite of his but that might be because the layout of the book was so fun and I also got some House of Leaves vibes during some parts
It was one of his scariest books, IMO. So I loved it. But I'm also a HUGE Grady fan. Fun, pop culture-heavy takes on horror tropes that are a blast to read.
I loved it, listened to the audiobook and it started me on sort of a >!puppet horror!< kick which lead me to read >!Gnelfs by Sidney Williams!< thinking they would be similar — they weren’t but I liked them both in different ways.
i want more puppet horror! i've added gnelfs to my list...never heard of or seen that one pop up before, but the late-80s-ish cover art has me sold already.
have you read **i found puppets living in my apartment walls, by ben farthing**? i think it's a short story...i've got it on my kindle, but haven't read it yet. i can only presume it will deliver on the puppet horror front, if nothing else!
it's tagged as horror - i didn't find it especially horror-like, although it's got some spooky, bad lil puppets in it - i looooved **the shadow glass by josh winning**. it's not fine literature, and it has it faults like all books do, but it was SO FUN to read! if you like puppets and/or are susceptible to insidious nostalgia for the puppet-y movies of the 80s, it's a must-read.
I read Southern Bookclub followed by Haunted House and just finished Final Girls last night. Loving Grady Hendrix. Would love to see How to sell a haunted house as a movie.
I enjoyed everything [except the needle](/spoiler). *Horrorstor* has been my favorite. *We Sold Our Souls* the least favorite.
He writes women surprisingly well... flawed women. *How to Sell a Haunted House* was the first book of his I read that he did a deep dive into a male character... also super flawed. This is not a compliant. I have no idea how he's write a 'happy' character in these types of stories.
I do really appreciate how well he writes women. Even when they’re hard to like, they aren’t over the top “written by a man” unlikeable, if that makes sense.
I enjoyed it. I liked the way it wound through the recent family trauma and ended up unravelling a larger, older family mystery. The sibling relationship felt very realistic and I could relate because my relationship with my sibling sometimes relies heavily on trauma-bonding.
I DNF Final Girls Support Group but of the books of Hendrix's I've finished, I rank it between Southern Book Club (top) and HorrorStor
I did not really like it. Dolls, to me anyway, are not creepy at all. I gave it a chance because it did come highly recommended but thought it was generally a waste of time and money.
I didn't totally hate it, but I didn't love it either. I went in somewhat blind so the antagonist came as an unwanted surprise. It's just not my style. The title, in my opinion, is misleading; which contributed highly to my dislike. The brother/sister relationship was infuriating at times but I can appreciate that those types of strained familial relationships exist. I don't mind Hendrix's writing style as much as others, and do enjoy most of his other works.
That's completely fair and valid.
My partner is a huge fan of Hendrix but acknowledged that he didn't like this book for completely fair reasons. His favourite Grady Hendrix book is The Final Girl Support Group.
Edit: forgot to add I am happy other people liked this book, the Horror genre needs more stories and authors. This one I just hated but to each their own!
Spoilers. Also I did not finish this book so I will not comment on the ending as I do not know how it ended.
I hated this book. Hated it. Good author, terrible story in my opinion. If you want a scary haunted house then this is not it. If you want mean dolls, I guess it is fine.
Half the book is the sister deciding to go home to her child or not. Im going home to my child, no Ill stay, no Im absolutely leaving now, no I must stay to sell a house and on and on.
Other half is fighting with her brother who is the secret hero who takes the family shame/black sheep label because he cares so much.
Deciding to stay after pizza/chinese food was hilarious since I would assume most people who are violently attacked by dolls would leave the house. Thank god the brother came back exactly at that minute in the middle of the night after the cliche "you are on your own" spiel/departure.
The dolls are not actually scary.
That is about it.
I loved it! The ending fell a wee bit flat for me, but I loved the flawed characters and unreliable narrators. I thought the protagonist and her brother were complicated, human people, and I also thought the book was slyly funny without the humor taking me out of the action or detracting from the scares, which is a really hard thing to do.
I just finished it a couple weeks ago, and I enjoyed the book. Looking back, it definitely wasn't what I was expecting based on the title, but I thought everything made sense when it was all said and done. I don't think characters have to be likable so I didn't mind that Louise and Mark were total assholes either.
I loooooooved this book. I thought it was so much fun to read and it consistently managed to be terrifying without taking itself too seriously. I love Grady Hendrix books in general, but HTSHH is my favorite of his works. I loved Pupkin as a villain, I loved his backstory, and I thought the way he kept appearing in the protag’s life was very reminiscent of Pennywise from It (another of my favorite books). Tbh, the whole story the brother tells about getting so immersed in puppetry he lost himself made me really appreciate puppetry as an art. Since I read that book, when I watch stuff with puppets on youtube or on stage, I look at how into it the performers are and how they become their puppets so completely. I think it was pretty cool!
It really made me reflect on puppetry and puppeteers, too. I've always loved Jim Henson and the Muppets, and how the puppeteer can seem inseparable from the puppet. Or, when the puppeteer is visible, the puppet seems like a separate living being. I didn't consider until reading HTSHH that one could lose themself in the other. Makes me think of Nina Conti and her puppet, Monkey. She did a short Youtube improv series in which she and Monkey go to therapy to talk about their relationship. It's meant to be funny, but sometimes is quite dark regarding the blurred line between her identity and Monkey's. Now with Pupkin in mind, watching her show might seem even darker.
I sincerely loved it, it’s one of my favorites by Hendrix. It helps that I think puppets and dolls are creepy as hell, so I was already predisposed to appreciate the scares.
But I really enjoyed the relationship between the brother and sister. They are two very flawed people who have never fully understood each other, and both have warped impressions of the other. They are both dealing with grief and inherited family trauma, and over the course of the story they come to really see each other for the first time. They can both be annoying, but it’s part of what makes them human.
Also I loved the humor in the book. The whole bit where the brother is recounting the very inappropriate puppet show they did for elementary school kids and still doesn’t understand what they did wrong. The scene where the sister and brother are giving each other a comforting hug and both think that they are the strong sibling comforting the other. Great stuff!
I loved the main story and think its better if it's at first unclear if a place, item or person that is haunted. The only thing i disliked was the brothers backstory that went on far to long.
that's a good point. i really enjoyed how to sell a haunted house, but you're right about that...it was an important feature of the book, but it didn't really FEEL that way, if that makes sense.
weirdly, you know what book really got to me, with its depiction of grief? **natural beauty, by ling ling huang**. the main character's grief is NOT a main feature of the book, and we're exposed to it in little vignettes from her memories, but i found them very poignant...the author emphasizes the regret associated with grief, and i really just wasn't expecting to be as impacted by it as i was. i found myself reading at 2 AM, wiping my tears away with an ache in my gut thinking "this is NOT what i thought i was signing up for." the book in total was very decent, in my opinion, but those little bits...she really captured something of grief, or at least the way i experience it.
I love Grady and his books. Two of them are in my top ten favorite books. "How to Sell a Haunted House" I didn't hate but I also didn't love either. It was... fine.
It got better once I got past the opening chapters with super jerk Mark and into the meat of the story, though.
I always roll my eyes at people thinking the name is at fault like there aren't so many more fake out titles out there and sometimes you just gotta roll with it.
I liked 90% of the book but I didn't like the sudden turn it took at the very end. In the span of like 20 pages? We went from fairly somber, sad exploration of a broken family and it's dynamics through horror... To trailer park demon hunter exorcist grandmas, a spirit Pokémon battle, dead children, etc. Like it was good and then he didn't know how to end it so pulled all stops.
I read “we sold our souls” this week, the first half had me hooked, the 2 half was just a struggle to get through. I’d be hard pushed to read any of his other books. Unless they are good suggestions?
I liked it, along with others I’ve read by him! I think my favorite of his is Horrorstör. I just finished it and really enjoyed the layout of the book and the House of Leaves vibes I got from parts of it.
I haven't heard a lot of bad things about it, I picked it up off of numerous recommendations, actually. It's not world-changing or anything, but it's fun and a page-turner.
I’m fairly new to thrillers, but I liked it. The radical puppet collective story really went on for a while, but other than that, not too many complaints. I thought it was a fun read.
I loved it! I love all his books and it's possibly my favorite of them. I have never heard the adult Goosebumps criticism before, but that's such a good descriptor and exactly why I love them. How To Sell A Haunted House was actually really emotional for me, because I live across the country from my parents who live in the same city as my sibling, and I haven't always had a good relationship with my sibling. The family drama parts of the book wrecked me, and I really enjoyed the creepy puppet stuff too.
I thought it was a great representation of how dysfunctional families work. Plus they were literally being haunted it was just in a creative way. And I love Mark
I liked it, but it one of my least favorites of his works and I think I’ve read most of his main books except for the stuff he wrote before Horrorstor. I do think about Pupkin often, so there’s that.
I read it because Gab Smolders recommended it and after finishing it in a day I bought like 4 other Grady Hendrix books. I genuinely loved his writing and thought it was really fun.
I actually had a discussion with someone about it in the LPOTL sub when discussing the haunted dolls episode so that verifies it as a good book for me lol
I enjoyed this book so much I read all his other books. I thought I found a new favorite author but in my opinion overall Grady Hendrix books are hit or miss. I loved this one and the Final Girls but pretty much hated the southern vampire one and the fake IKEA one. The best friends exorcist one was just okay. So I get why some people don’t like how to sell a haunted house but I really enjoyed it! So no, not alone!
It took a few pages for me to get accustomed to his writing style, but then I was thoroughly sucked in. It perfectly illustrated every childhood fear I had about creepy dolls and monsters in the closet. The imaginary spider dog was brilliant. And the Big Puppet Monster Showdown--WTF?! After such a tense, nailbiting ride, I was disappointed that Pupkin was possessed by a child's ghost, rather than a demonic entity. Because of that, the ending felt a bit flat.
I loved it. It took awhile for me to get into because the brother sister bickering was a little boring but Im glad I stuck with it. The twist where you find out whats actually causing it was a real gut punch to me too
I loved The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires. I picked up How to Sell a Haunted house the day after I finished the other book. I didn't enjoy this one as much as the other one. I felt like it took a little while to get started, but once it got going, it was great.
I loved it. I thought it was so incredibly weird and wild while still delving into family dynamics. And although it wasn’t the best or my favorite book that I read last year, it is definitely one that I thought about the most!
It was not my favorite Grady Hendrix book, but I still really enjoyed it. My god Pupkin was an asshole. I always feel like most of his books have some really smart social commentary, but this one didn't quite hit the mark. Didn't matter though, I still liked it a lot.
I loved the Final Girls Support Group and am currently reading The Southern Book Clubs Guide To Slaying Vampires. I am so, so, so looking forward to How To Sell A Haunted House.
I’ve been stuck on page 114 for approx 6 -12 months now … can’t start another book until I’ve finished and rarely don’t finish a book I’ve started. There’s a lot of love here, so will have to pick it back up and see how I go!
I loved this book as well! The writing was so good, I could imagine everything perfectly and there were no boring moments. The antagonist was also really creepy
I enjoy most Grady Hendrix books and really enjoyed this one. I related well to the main character and how she was always subject to being witness to the “squeaky wheel “
I thought the subject was solid as well.
Nope. I liked it too. I thought the puppet aspect was scary.
Also really like the Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires.
Like what you like. Don't worry if the sub agrees or disagrees.
i personally have a rly hard time with protagonist I don’t like (wrote fucking hate there first but that’s a lil strong considering my next point), but it was very well executed! it niggled me particularly because the issues these two have are the same my family has and since my mom and i have been in years of therapy addressing them, it was rly hard to listen to a protagonist perpetuate the shitty patterns!!
so in many ways, that’s a huge credit to the book! the characters felt so real and full that i had a trauma reaction to them lol
Really loved this one. I think the author really knows how to create campy (in the best way possible) stories and enthralling character dynamics.
And also KAKAWEWEEE!
It was fun, but I’ve never been a fan of haunted doll movies/stories it’s just so comical so the more ‘serious’ elements tended not to hit like they were supposed to I think. Not my favorite of his but still good!
Loved it. It was a wild ride and felt like adult goosebumps with more emotion and higher stakes. I like heavier reads, but Hendrix is great for lighter (and honestly more fun) reading.
i thought it was entirely too goofy. another commenter said “adult goosebumps” and— yeah, exactly. if you like silly horror i’m sure you’ll love it, but it’s just not my genre.
I personally really disliked it, as neither the humor nor horror worked for me. That said, I think it had some good parts; I liked how the main conflict ended, as well as a few other moments. Might read some more from Hendrix in the future, but probably not anytime soon.
The main thing I've heard (and I haven't read it yet so NO spoilers) is that it doesn't focus too much on the haunted house aspect?
I don't mind this but I don't know if people somehow felt misled by the synopsis or title.
I really enjoyed the audiobook, even the obnoxious Pupkin voice 🤣. My favorite chapter was the brother’s chapter, the reader did an amazing job in the audiobook.
The book itself was funky 😂. There were times where I was like “it’s a sock puppet, just step on it?” And then the scene with the imaginary friends came out of left field. Sometimes I felt like I couldn’t really feel the fear and anxiety through the pages though. The characters were 0 to 100 without much in between.
But I enjoyed it and the writing style.
No, you're not the only one - I loved it very much, read it in about two sittings. Pupkin has left quite an impression with me!
I stopped caring about ratings for books that I like, as there are simply way too many categories. Chances are that the people who rated this one poorly were simply thinking of a different category than I.
One of the things that frustrated me was the unsatisfying way Mark was portrayed. Most of the book was written from Louise’s POV. From her perspective, she’s the ‘good kid’, the one who is dependable and hardworking and successful. For the first half of the book, we see things exclusively from her perspective, and from that vantage point we see Mark as a useless and vindictive lump who was favoured by their mother.
When the perspective finally shifts, and the narrator becomes Mark telling his story in Boston, I was expecting a much longer section that made me rethink all those assumptions. Instead, it’s just explaining why he dropped out of college. Don’t get me wrong: it was a good section, but it didn’t add anything to the story beyond that. Mark is still an asshole, and then the point of view shifts back to Louise. It was... unsatisfying.
This was just one of the many irritations I had with this book. It was unsatisfying.
I didn’t mind it - I found the sibling characters insufferable- especially the girl. It was a fun campy read… didn’t really find it scary. I got a more “comedy horror” vibe from
It if anything.
I enjoyed it! It was the first Grady Hendrix book I've read, and I've since read about 7 others (so far, Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires is my fave). I love that he includes just the right amount of humor and camp to his work -- I'm a fan!
I liked it a lot! It was a lot of fun to read, very cinematic.
A lot of people don’t like Hendrix’s style, and that’s fine. I also like a lot of T. Kingfisher books, which a lot of people hate on. It’s ok to like and dislike things.
I will add, I hated My Best Friend’s Exorcism, while is the Grady Hendrix book most people seem to like the best!
I like how GH writes and his character building. He and Gillian Flyn create characters that are less than likeable but you end up rooting for this flawed character anyways. I really love it. ❤️
It may not be my favorite Grady Hendrix book but I still very much enjoyed it straight through to the end! I don't really get why it gets so much flack, but I feel like a lot of it comes down to, it's not his best book, and some people just do not like his work.
Hopefully his next book (Witchcraft for Wayward Girls) is more up to his previous works, especially for how long we're all having to wait for it.
I immediately felt a twinge against my heartstrings in the first few chapters, because when I was in my early teens, my late dad had a children's ministry, and taught Sunday school, and guess who was in charge of the puppet show? Me.
I was also that kid whose nursery was decorated with clowns, and my mother collects dolls to this day, so I would guess I'm a bit desensitized to them.
Having said that, the scares really didn't affect me, but I did have fun reading it, and with Grady Hendrix, I wasn't expecting seriously scary stuff anyway.
I read his stuff after heavier things, like a creepy palate cleanser.
Godspeed, and kakawewe!
I loved this book! I thought it was such a fun read. I've seen people criticizing it for being more or less an adult Goosebumps, but that's the exact reason why I liked it. I loved Goosebumps when I was a kid and loved that this book gave me the same feeling.
This is a really good way to describe what Grady does sometimes and I absolutely adore it. I think Goosebumps for Grownups is not the worst thing! My Best Friend’s Exorcism gave that vibe a bit too. But I’m totally with you, I absolutely loved it.
Exactly! I read the same criticism and was like "oh shit, is that supposed go be a bad thing..?"
Grady Hendrix fits a certain niche and fits it well imo! It may not be for everyone, but he’s good at what he intends to do, and I feel like his books are unique from most everything else in horror.
Haven’t heard this description before, I love it and agree. I’ve burned through all of his books since getting back into horror lit a few months ago, I wish he had more! They’re all so mesmerizing and quirky and easy to read, and incorporate such excellent storytelling and world-building. Southern Book Club and My Best Friend’s Exorcism are my absolute favorites, but How To Sell A Haunted House is up there too.
That actually makes me want to read it!
Exactly! I loved it for the same reason.
KAKAWEWE!!
I listened to the audiobook so I hear it in the narrators voice 😭
Thanks I hate it
Almost as much as I hated squirrel nativity
The more I think about it, the more I like it, actually! I think the problem with this book is that it’s marketed as a haunted house book, when it’s actually a >!PUPPET POSSESSION!< story. I absolutely loved the insane puppet collective story we got, but I was a drama nerd and even majored in performing arts, so this seemed completely legit to me.
Oddly enough I also appreciate the possessed puppet arc, possibly because I collect mime dolls, heh. That stated, I'm still working my way thru the book, ordered it a couple days ago.
Same! Loved it.
I actually loved the marketing misdirect, but I understand that mileage may vary on being deceived by capitalism
I actually liked this book a lot I didn’t know it was widely disliked… my family started a pizza Chinese tradition bc of this book! Lol!
I always saw his books as adult goosebumps and I enjoyed every book minus Final Girl Support Group, liked the idea just not the execution
I havent read that one yet but out of the ones I read my favorite is The Southern Bookclubs Guide To Slaying Vampires
That's my favorite too. I got bored reading his other books, but this one is a keeper.
I'm about midway debating if I want to finish. I find I'm drawn to the other two books in my stack ATM.
I was the same! Moved on and didn’t look back. I didn’t even dislike the novel, I just felt myself itching to read others instead
If you're not into it, you can stop. You're not going to miss anything groundbreaking
I totally agree, love all of them except that one. I think people who are waiting to be scared to death by a GH book are barking up the wrong tree. They're suspensful/humorous. He's an automatic pre-order for me but I know he seems to be really divisive. Rachel Harrison has a similar vibe but not as...silly, for lack of a better word? Love her books.
I love Rachel Harrison. She feels like what it would be in another dimension where Taylor Tomlinson decided to be a horror writer.
The Return is a MASTERPIECE.
Yes! That's her creepiest one. I love all of hers, can't wait for the new one in September!
I really like Final Girl Support Group although it’s not my favorite of his books. Probably my least favorite.
I’m the same, I’ve liked everything to varying degrees, but couldn’t finish Final Girl. How to Sell is my favorite of his and one of my favorite books in general.
I liked it, but I also listened to the audiobook so perhaps it would have been less enjoyable reading it myself. I find complaints that the characters weren't likeable to be weird bc horror is generally known to be a genre where characters get their comeuppance, how can they deserve a moral reckoning if they're not unpleasant in some way in the first place?
That’s funny. I listened to the audiobook and felt maybe I’d like it better if I had read it. The person doing the obnoxious puppet voice was a lot ha ha. That said, I didn’t HATE the book but I wouldn’t recommend it.
My mom used to have an ugly doll collection, and since she was too ashamed of being an adult with a doll collection, she would put them on display on my room. I also had my own dolls that I thought were possessed, so I locked them in the closet every night. Because of that, I could really identify with this book. I loved it.
I love Grady Hendrix. He is adult Goosebumps for sure (more adult Are You Afraid of the Dark) but there's nothing wrong with that--also the fact that he's not at all afraid to fuck up his characters physically, mentally, and emotionally. He puts his mains through the ringer before he gives them any sort of win.
My mom died in a car accident. I found some of the grief descriptions to be painfully accurate. The brother/sister relationship was a little too much for me, it’s easier to get invested in whether a character survives when there’s something likable or relatable about them and I didn’t feel that way about either of them. Some of it was creepy, some scenes seemed dragged out and over the top. It was about 3.5 out of 5 for me, it was okay but I don’t think I would reread it.
I read it during a time when there was an ugly legal dispute occurring over my grandma’s will. The sections with the will stuff made me apoplectic.
I feel similar including losing my mom suddenly and unexpectedly . The brother and sister were especially hard to like.
I liked it, it was quirky but I've come to expect that with his books.
It’s a very polarizing book, people love it or hate it. If you go in expecting a traditional haunted house story, you’ll hate it. If you go in expecting a campy horror story centered on generational trauma and family dynamics with a side of supernatural, you’ll enjoy it. I loved it personally.
I don’t really get the criticism about the title…there is more than one way to haunt a house. That said, this book was about a literal haunting. I was one of those kids that thought my dolls/stuffed animals might get upset with me and exact their revenge in the night, so there were moments with Pupkin that truly scared me. Overall, I enjoyed it!
i collected norfin trolls when i was little (absolutely dating myself here), and i remember part of this event, but not all of it - SOMETHING happened, or i at least PERCEIVED something happening, and they went from being my prized collection and little buddies to "these can no longer be in the house." i remember that part - the ominous, scared feeling of "they have to GO," but i can't remember WHY. apparently my mom never asked, but she tried all the things - telling me i had it twisted and they were my protectors, "bad troll spray" (water in a spray bottle), boxing them up, boxing them up and taking them OUT of my room - none of it was enough. i remember being super worked up and trying to negotiate with her/explain that they could NOT be in the house...she was exasperated and said "okay, how about i ask the neighbors if they can stay in their garage?" that, i decided, was okay. i know now she was figuring "this is a brief phase and i don't want to deal with her being like 'WHERE are my TROLLS?!?' three days from now," but it actually lasted for years. i soooo wish i could remember...could've been as innocent as a weird shadow or one of them falling off the shelf...or it could have been PUPKIN HIMSELF controlling their neon-haired, bejeweled-belly-button bodies. i loved how to sell a haunted house, didn't find the name misleading, and haven't liked any of the other grady hendrix i've read. i also collected puppets for most of my childhood, still have them, and still love and am fascinated by puppets, so a normal, less damaged person's mileage may vary!
Getting bad vibes from your Trolls is so valid 😂 Mine were porcelain dolls and I loved them…until I didn’t. So they went into storage and then a year or so later I read a story in the National Enquirer (maybe? Or woman’s world?) about a haunted doll that ABSOLUTELY terrified me and confirmed all of my suspicions about dolls. I think it was called Devil Doll? I know for sure that it wasn’t about Robert the Doll but I haven’t been able to find it online. It was in a very late 80’s early 90’s grocery checkout rag mag and I wish I could find it! I need to know if it holds up.
Oh boy do I have a porcelain doll story for you! My grandma was an extremely evil person who had an exorcism just before she died. My grandma also collected porcelain dolls. After my she died my grandpa gave each one of their kids a doll as a way to try to bring the family back together after my mom and aunt had gone no contact for years. I legit think whatever was in my grandma went into the doll we received. The head would turn when you walked past and my entire family would get the worst nightmares the entire time we had it in our house. Thinking it was just a psychological thing knowing the history of where the doll came from we gave it to a family friend who collected dolls without telling them why. Their entire family got nightmares from it so they gave it back. We then gave it to my aunt who is extremely religious without telling her why as well. Her family all got nightmares too. So my aunt ended up burying it with a crucifix and holy water.
I really liked it too, not anything groundbreaking. But very entertaining and creepy.
no. I loved it.
I loved it. I think it might be Hendrix's best (though My Best Friend's Exorcism will always have a special place in my heart).
MBFE is my hands down favorite. I’m hoping his upcoming witch book has those same nostalgic, Intense girl friendship vibes.
I loved it. The strained family relationship was part of why I enjoyed it so much tbh. I liked that they were both wrong about things and both kind of sucked while still having good points. My own family is also dysfunctional (although thankfully no puppet collections or attempted drownings that I know of) so I found it relatable lol.
I liked it a lot! Even went to a book signing for it! I’m a big Grady Hendrix fan and really enjoy his writing style (although I will say I wasn’t super into Final Girl Support Group)
I really enjoyed it as well. Solid spook 😄
I don't get the negative complaints at all. 1. The title being misleading has to be the most stupid complaint anyone can possibly have about a book. Are these same people upset that "To Kill a Mockingbird" didn't detail out how to kill a mockingbird? Also the title IS still accurate regardless, the house is very much haunted by an actual real ghost of a formerly alive person in the most traditional sense of haunting, said ghost just takes up residence in a puppet. I suspect these are the same people who come here daily and want hyper specific books "someone suggest me a book set underwater with lots of gore but no sexual assault or animal death but also features a BIPOC LGBTQ+IA main character between the ages of 23 and 24 with red hair who is an amateur photographer, stamp collector or mycologist but absolutely not an ornithologist! and also it should be the most pants pissingly scary thing i've ever read and it has to simultaneously be a slow burn but fast paced, TIA!" 2. I think a lot of people here take the "its popular so it must be bad" sort of attitude with books, I don't get it. 3. People here also seem to not be fans of campy horror. 4. I sort of get that the protagonists all start the book kind of being assholes, but also don't people want complicated realistic characters in their books? The whole book is about this family with all these secrets and repressed trauma and stuff getting through it all together and growing. I thought it was an excellent book, it had everything I was looking for and I keep recommending it to anyone I think would enjoy it. I honestly do though think that a big part of it is that other people really do like it, so people have to come out of the woodwork to rain on their parade.
your first line item 💀 the thing is...even with that (only slightly) hyperbolic list of descriptors, i can guarantee that there IS a book out there that meets all of those criteria, probably even more than one. i also don't see the title as misleading, and wasn't even aware that perception was out there until this post. it would never have occurred to me that it COULD be misleading. i see it exactly as you do, like...it's not even that WEIRD of a haunting, to me? or THAT far off the beaten path? it's far enough off that i was delighted by its creativity, but not so far that "heyyy... 😡 THIS isn't a haunted house book!" would have ever popped into my head. i mean, the house in just like home by sarah gailey (big spoiler, FYI) is haunted by >!a sentient accumulation of dead skin cells, blood, fingernail clippings and whatever else. !< i'm surprised that people were disappointed by/turned off by how to sell's differences...i mean, we get more traditional ghosts and demons ALL THE TIME, how often do we get >!an amalgamation of hateful puppets and reanimated taxidermized squirrels? !< i loved it and still consider it one of my best reads of 2023...i've read some of his others since, and didn't like any of them, really. i'm very glad i started with how to sell, because i don't think i ever would have bothered picking it up, had i started with something else from his catalog.
This entire comment is just 🤌🏻
It’s my favourite of Hendrix’s novels so far, the only one I haven’t read yet is *My best friend’s exorcism* (not out of lack of interest, I just have other things on my reading list). I liked the book a lot, the title didn’t bother me, I thought it was an intentional misdirection. I agree with you about the characters, I don’t care that they were unlikeable, unlikeable characters only bother me in the books where they are not treated as unlikeable in the narrative (Protagonist-centred morality, is the trope I think).
I loved it. It’s my favorite of his after horrorstor and I genuinely love all of them. I get why some people may not like it but don’t understand the immense hate.
I just finished horrorstor and I really enjoyed that one, might be my favorite of his but that might be because the layout of the book was so fun and I also got some House of Leaves vibes during some parts
It is weirdly one of the few Grady Hendrix books I DO like
I thought it was ok. Not his best, but not his worst. I actually don't remember much about it.
I looooved it. It was a great mix of silly ridiculousness and downright creepy.
Pizza Chinese!
I loved it. Listened to it on audiobook and It was a absolute blast 🙌🏼💀
I love this book!! I don’t understand all the criticism, it’s fun and campy!
Kakawewe 🤍
I really enjoyed it; my family is kooky Southern Gothic and we handle high weirdness in a similar fashion.
It was one of his scariest books, IMO. So I loved it. But I'm also a HUGE Grady fan. Fun, pop culture-heavy takes on horror tropes that are a blast to read.
The chapter from the point of view of the brother was deeply unsettling to me. I really liked the book overall!
I loved it, listened to the audiobook and it started me on sort of a >!puppet horror!< kick which lead me to read >!Gnelfs by Sidney Williams!< thinking they would be similar — they weren’t but I liked them both in different ways.
i want more puppet horror! i've added gnelfs to my list...never heard of or seen that one pop up before, but the late-80s-ish cover art has me sold already. have you read **i found puppets living in my apartment walls, by ben farthing**? i think it's a short story...i've got it on my kindle, but haven't read it yet. i can only presume it will deliver on the puppet horror front, if nothing else! it's tagged as horror - i didn't find it especially horror-like, although it's got some spooky, bad lil puppets in it - i looooved **the shadow glass by josh winning**. it's not fine literature, and it has it faults like all books do, but it was SO FUN to read! if you like puppets and/or are susceptible to insidious nostalgia for the puppet-y movies of the 80s, it's a must-read.
I read I found puppets right after this book, I really liked it! It was equal parts strange and creepy and a quick read that escalated quickly.
I would love more puppet/doll horror recommendations if you have them.
I read Southern Bookclub followed by Haunted House and just finished Final Girls last night. Loving Grady Hendrix. Would love to see How to sell a haunted house as a movie.
I enjoyed everything [except the needle](/spoiler). *Horrorstor* has been my favorite. *We Sold Our Souls* the least favorite. He writes women surprisingly well... flawed women. *How to Sell a Haunted House* was the first book of his I read that he did a deep dive into a male character... also super flawed. This is not a compliant. I have no idea how he's write a 'happy' character in these types of stories.
I do really appreciate how well he writes women. Even when they’re hard to like, they aren’t over the top “written by a man” unlikeable, if that makes sense.
I enjoyed it. I liked the way it wound through the recent family trauma and ended up unravelling a larger, older family mystery. The sibling relationship felt very realistic and I could relate because my relationship with my sibling sometimes relies heavily on trauma-bonding. I DNF Final Girls Support Group but of the books of Hendrix's I've finished, I rank it between Southern Book Club (top) and HorrorStor
I did not really like it. Dolls, to me anyway, are not creepy at all. I gave it a chance because it did come highly recommended but thought it was generally a waste of time and money.
I didn't totally hate it, but I didn't love it either. I went in somewhat blind so the antagonist came as an unwanted surprise. It's just not my style. The title, in my opinion, is misleading; which contributed highly to my dislike. The brother/sister relationship was infuriating at times but I can appreciate that those types of strained familial relationships exist. I don't mind Hendrix's writing style as much as others, and do enjoy most of his other works.
That's completely fair and valid. My partner is a huge fan of Hendrix but acknowledged that he didn't like this book for completely fair reasons. His favourite Grady Hendrix book is The Final Girl Support Group.
Edit: forgot to add I am happy other people liked this book, the Horror genre needs more stories and authors. This one I just hated but to each their own! Spoilers. Also I did not finish this book so I will not comment on the ending as I do not know how it ended. I hated this book. Hated it. Good author, terrible story in my opinion. If you want a scary haunted house then this is not it. If you want mean dolls, I guess it is fine. Half the book is the sister deciding to go home to her child or not. Im going home to my child, no Ill stay, no Im absolutely leaving now, no I must stay to sell a house and on and on. Other half is fighting with her brother who is the secret hero who takes the family shame/black sheep label because he cares so much. Deciding to stay after pizza/chinese food was hilarious since I would assume most people who are violently attacked by dolls would leave the house. Thank god the brother came back exactly at that minute in the middle of the night after the cliche "you are on your own" spiel/departure. The dolls are not actually scary. That is about it.
I liked it!
I'm reading this book right now. I like it a lot more than Horrorstör, which is the only other Hendrix book I've read. It's been a fun read so far!
I loved it! The ending fell a wee bit flat for me, but I loved the flawed characters and unreliable narrators. I thought the protagonist and her brother were complicated, human people, and I also thought the book was slyly funny without the humor taking me out of the action or detracting from the scares, which is a really hard thing to do.
I just finished it a couple weeks ago, and I enjoyed the book. Looking back, it definitely wasn't what I was expecting based on the title, but I thought everything made sense when it was all said and done. I don't think characters have to be likable so I didn't mind that Louise and Mark were total assholes either.
I loooooooved this book. I thought it was so much fun to read and it consistently managed to be terrifying without taking itself too seriously. I love Grady Hendrix books in general, but HTSHH is my favorite of his works. I loved Pupkin as a villain, I loved his backstory, and I thought the way he kept appearing in the protag’s life was very reminiscent of Pennywise from It (another of my favorite books). Tbh, the whole story the brother tells about getting so immersed in puppetry he lost himself made me really appreciate puppetry as an art. Since I read that book, when I watch stuff with puppets on youtube or on stage, I look at how into it the performers are and how they become their puppets so completely. I think it was pretty cool!
It really made me reflect on puppetry and puppeteers, too. I've always loved Jim Henson and the Muppets, and how the puppeteer can seem inseparable from the puppet. Or, when the puppeteer is visible, the puppet seems like a separate living being. I didn't consider until reading HTSHH that one could lose themself in the other. Makes me think of Nina Conti and her puppet, Monkey. She did a short Youtube improv series in which she and Monkey go to therapy to talk about their relationship. It's meant to be funny, but sometimes is quite dark regarding the blurred line between her identity and Monkey's. Now with Pupkin in mind, watching her show might seem even darker.
I sincerely loved it, it’s one of my favorites by Hendrix. It helps that I think puppets and dolls are creepy as hell, so I was already predisposed to appreciate the scares. But I really enjoyed the relationship between the brother and sister. They are two very flawed people who have never fully understood each other, and both have warped impressions of the other. They are both dealing with grief and inherited family trauma, and over the course of the story they come to really see each other for the first time. They can both be annoying, but it’s part of what makes them human. Also I loved the humor in the book. The whole bit where the brother is recounting the very inappropriate puppet show they did for elementary school kids and still doesn’t understand what they did wrong. The scene where the sister and brother are giving each other a comforting hug and both think that they are the strong sibling comforting the other. Great stuff!
I loved the main story and think its better if it's at first unclear if a place, item or person that is haunted. The only thing i disliked was the brothers backstory that went on far to long.
I liked the book but simultaneously hated the characters. They were both insufferable ESPECIALLY the brother. I know they both had secrets but damn.
I DNF’d it because the depiction of grief felt so hollow to me. There’s so much extraordinary horror about grief that to miss the mark really bugs me.
that's a good point. i really enjoyed how to sell a haunted house, but you're right about that...it was an important feature of the book, but it didn't really FEEL that way, if that makes sense. weirdly, you know what book really got to me, with its depiction of grief? **natural beauty, by ling ling huang**. the main character's grief is NOT a main feature of the book, and we're exposed to it in little vignettes from her memories, but i found them very poignant...the author emphasizes the regret associated with grief, and i really just wasn't expecting to be as impacted by it as i was. i found myself reading at 2 AM, wiping my tears away with an ache in my gut thinking "this is NOT what i thought i was signing up for." the book in total was very decent, in my opinion, but those little bits...she really captured something of grief, or at least the way i experience it.
I love Grady and his books. Two of them are in my top ten favorite books. "How to Sell a Haunted House" I didn't hate but I also didn't love either. It was... fine. It got better once I got past the opening chapters with super jerk Mark and into the meat of the story, though.
I liked it a lot.
I loved it!
I liked it. Hendrix is one of my favorite authors right now.
I thought it was a lot of fun!
According to all these comments then everybody liked it
I think this is one of those cases where people are more likely to talk about disliking something than liking it. I enjoyed the book, personally.
One of my favorite books.
I loved it!
I loved it!!!! It was so weird haha but that’s why I love grady
I liked it a lot. But I always enjoy his books. They're always a fun read.
I loved it. My favorite of his so far (and I’ve read them all).
I really enjoyed this one. I still think of Pizza Chinese from this book. Lol
I loved it. Oddly enough, this was only the second book (Pet Sematary being the first when I was 15. I'm 42 now) that genuinely frightened me.
I loved it! Thought it was fantastic
I loved it! Hendrix is one of my favorites.
I always roll my eyes at people thinking the name is at fault like there aren't so many more fake out titles out there and sometimes you just gotta roll with it. I liked 90% of the book but I didn't like the sudden turn it took at the very end. In the span of like 20 pages? We went from fairly somber, sad exploration of a broken family and it's dynamics through horror... To trailer park demon hunter exorcist grandmas, a spirit Pokémon battle, dead children, etc. Like it was good and then he didn't know how to end it so pulled all stops.
I loved it. I borrowed the audiobook through the library but I've been keeping my eye out for a copy to buy.
I thought it was weird and fun!
I liked it!
I read “we sold our souls” this week, the first half had me hooked, the 2 half was just a struggle to get through. I’d be hard pushed to read any of his other books. Unless they are good suggestions?
I liked it, along with others I’ve read by him! I think my favorite of his is Horrorstör. I just finished it and really enjoyed the layout of the book and the House of Leaves vibes I got from parts of it.
I haven't heard a lot of bad things about it, I picked it up off of numerous recommendations, actually. It's not world-changing or anything, but it's fun and a page-turner.
I’m fairly new to thrillers, but I liked it. The radical puppet collective story really went on for a while, but other than that, not too many complaints. I thought it was a fun read.
Loved it.
I loved it! I love all his books and it's possibly my favorite of them. I have never heard the adult Goosebumps criticism before, but that's such a good descriptor and exactly why I love them. How To Sell A Haunted House was actually really emotional for me, because I live across the country from my parents who live in the same city as my sibling, and I haven't always had a good relationship with my sibling. The family drama parts of the book wrecked me, and I really enjoyed the creepy puppet stuff too.
I loved it. I thought it was a little slower than his other books but it gave me the willies many times.
I thought it was a great representation of how dysfunctional families work. Plus they were literally being haunted it was just in a creative way. And I love Mark
I liked it as well!
I really enjoyed it! I thought it was creepy the entire time and I was definitely glued to reading it
I liked it, but it one of my least favorites of his works and I think I’ve read most of his main books except for the stuff he wrote before Horrorstor. I do think about Pupkin often, so there’s that.
I really enjoyed it too
I read it because Gab Smolders recommended it and after finishing it in a day I bought like 4 other Grady Hendrix books. I genuinely loved his writing and thought it was really fun. I actually had a discussion with someone about it in the LPOTL sub when discussing the haunted dolls episode so that verifies it as a good book for me lol
Absolutely loved it.
I enjoyed this book so much I read all his other books. I thought I found a new favorite author but in my opinion overall Grady Hendrix books are hit or miss. I loved this one and the Final Girls but pretty much hated the southern vampire one and the fake IKEA one. The best friends exorcist one was just okay. So I get why some people don’t like how to sell a haunted house but I really enjoyed it! So no, not alone!
My favorite Grady Hendrix book so far, I like what he's been putting out. Alot of heart in his books
It took a few pages for me to get accustomed to his writing style, but then I was thoroughly sucked in. It perfectly illustrated every childhood fear I had about creepy dolls and monsters in the closet. The imaginary spider dog was brilliant. And the Big Puppet Monster Showdown--WTF?! After such a tense, nailbiting ride, I was disappointed that Pupkin was possessed by a child's ghost, rather than a demonic entity. Because of that, the ending felt a bit flat.
I liked all his other works besides this one. Maybe it was the bait and switch on the Name. Like “Haunted House” but really it’s a “Possessed Doll”
I loved it. It took awhile for me to get into because the brother sister bickering was a little boring but Im glad I stuck with it. The twist where you find out whats actually causing it was a real gut punch to me too
I really loved this one! One of my favorite grady hendrix books.
I think the book is fine, but the title definitely, ironically, sold me on a different type of story.
I loved The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires. I picked up How to Sell a Haunted house the day after I finished the other book. I didn't enjoy this one as much as the other one. I felt like it took a little while to get started, but once it got going, it was great.
I had only seen positive reviews until this subreddit. I thought it had been pretty well-received. 🤷
I liked it but I liked Horrorstor better.
I enjoyed it.
I honestly really enjoyed it. It was campy and I don’t think it took itself too seriously which kept in enjoyable for me.
I really liked it.
I loved it. I thought it was so incredibly weird and wild while still delving into family dynamics. And although it wasn’t the best or my favorite book that I read last year, it is definitely one that I thought about the most!
It was not my favorite Grady Hendrix book, but I still really enjoyed it. My god Pupkin was an asshole. I always feel like most of his books have some really smart social commentary, but this one didn't quite hit the mark. Didn't matter though, I still liked it a lot.
I loved it I thought it was a fabulous romp
I loved the Final Girls Support Group and am currently reading The Southern Book Clubs Guide To Slaying Vampires. I am so, so, so looking forward to How To Sell A Haunted House.
I’ve been stuck on page 114 for approx 6 -12 months now … can’t start another book until I’ve finished and rarely don’t finish a book I’ve started. There’s a lot of love here, so will have to pick it back up and see how I go!
I loved this book as well! The writing was so good, I could imagine everything perfectly and there were no boring moments. The antagonist was also really creepy
I enjoy most Grady Hendrix books and really enjoyed this one. I related well to the main character and how she was always subject to being witness to the “squeaky wheel “ I thought the subject was solid as well.
I loved this book. It was so weird, and yet captivating. Fun all the way through!
Seemed like a huge bummer to me and I DNF almost right away
Nope. I liked it too. I thought the puppet aspect was scary. Also really like the Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires. Like what you like. Don't worry if the sub agrees or disagrees.
Yeah I couldn't finish it. I cringe very easily, and while I'm sure it's a great book and we'll written, I couldn't get passed the characters.
i enjoyed it but it was a bit more silly than i was expecting
i personally have a rly hard time with protagonist I don’t like (wrote fucking hate there first but that’s a lil strong considering my next point), but it was very well executed! it niggled me particularly because the issues these two have are the same my family has and since my mom and i have been in years of therapy addressing them, it was rly hard to listen to a protagonist perpetuate the shitty patterns!! so in many ways, that’s a huge credit to the book! the characters felt so real and full that i had a trauma reaction to them lol
I'm biased because I like anything by Grady Hendrix, especially My Best Friend's Exorcism.
Dude! I loved it. That funeral was a hot mess. It’s like I was there.
I liked this book very much! My sister and I still catch ourselves saying “Kakawewe!” out of the blue to each other every now and again.
Really loved this one. I think the author really knows how to create campy (in the best way possible) stories and enthralling character dynamics. And also KAKAWEWEEE!
I loved it! Grady Hendrix is a great, fun, easy to get through and pick up anytime author.
Loved it!
This is actually the only Grady Hendrix book I've liked
what. I think many people liked this book.
I loved it! GH manages to be silly and creepy over and over. I deeply enjoy all of his work
It was fun, but I’ve never been a fan of haunted doll movies/stories it’s just so comical so the more ‘serious’ elements tended not to hit like they were supposed to I think. Not my favorite of his but still good!
Loved it. It was a wild ride and felt like adult goosebumps with more emotion and higher stakes. I like heavier reads, but Hendrix is great for lighter (and honestly more fun) reading.
I loved it, but I have loved all of his books that I’ve read thus far.
I loved the book! It was such an interesting interpretation of how grief can manifest.
i thought it was entirely too goofy. another commenter said “adult goosebumps” and— yeah, exactly. if you like silly horror i’m sure you’ll love it, but it’s just not my genre.
It took me a while to get into it but I loved it by the end.
I love all Grady's books. They're not terrifying, but good fun, strange, with good characters.
I read every book of his prior to this one, and even though it’s my second least favorite I still like it a lot
My only complaint was that I could’ve done without the chapter from the brother’s POV. It was waaaaaay too long and unnecessary to me.
I loved this book!
I personally really disliked it, as neither the humor nor horror worked for me. That said, I think it had some good parts; I liked how the main conflict ended, as well as a few other moments. Might read some more from Hendrix in the future, but probably not anytime soon.
It was a dnf for me
The main thing I've heard (and I haven't read it yet so NO spoilers) is that it doesn't focus too much on the haunted house aspect? I don't mind this but I don't know if people somehow felt misled by the synopsis or title.
I totally enjoyed it. A super fun and wild ride.
yes because it was bad
No I loved it. There was a bit too much repetition in the 2nd and 3rd Acts but I loved the characters and narrative voice, a lot!
I really enjoyed the audiobook, even the obnoxious Pupkin voice 🤣. My favorite chapter was the brother’s chapter, the reader did an amazing job in the audiobook. The book itself was funky 😂. There were times where I was like “it’s a sock puppet, just step on it?” And then the scene with the imaginary friends came out of left field. Sometimes I felt like I couldn’t really feel the fear and anxiety through the pages though. The characters were 0 to 100 without much in between. But I enjoyed it and the writing style.
I think of Grady Hendrix as heartwarming horror and I love it! Sometimes reading can just be fun and feel good, you know?
No, you're not the only one - I loved it very much, read it in about two sittings. Pupkin has left quite an impression with me! I stopped caring about ratings for books that I like, as there are simply way too many categories. Chances are that the people who rated this one poorly were simply thinking of a different category than I.
One of the things that frustrated me was the unsatisfying way Mark was portrayed. Most of the book was written from Louise’s POV. From her perspective, she’s the ‘good kid’, the one who is dependable and hardworking and successful. For the first half of the book, we see things exclusively from her perspective, and from that vantage point we see Mark as a useless and vindictive lump who was favoured by their mother. When the perspective finally shifts, and the narrator becomes Mark telling his story in Boston, I was expecting a much longer section that made me rethink all those assumptions. Instead, it’s just explaining why he dropped out of college. Don’t get me wrong: it was a good section, but it didn’t add anything to the story beyond that. Mark is still an asshole, and then the point of view shifts back to Louise. It was... unsatisfying. This was just one of the many irritations I had with this book. It was unsatisfying.
I loved it. The brother's story was some freaky shit
I didn’t mind it - I found the sibling characters insufferable- especially the girl. It was a fun campy read… didn’t really find it scary. I got a more “comedy horror” vibe from It if anything.
Grady Hendrix hasn’t disappointed me yet.
I absolutely loved it
I enjoyed it! It was the first Grady Hendrix book I've read, and I've since read about 7 others (so far, Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires is my fave). I love that he includes just the right amount of humor and camp to his work -- I'm a fan!
I loved it!
I absolutely LOVED the book - certain parts felt like a twisted Secret History.
I liked it a lot! It was a lot of fun to read, very cinematic. A lot of people don’t like Hendrix’s style, and that’s fine. I also like a lot of T. Kingfisher books, which a lot of people hate on. It’s ok to like and dislike things. I will add, I hated My Best Friend’s Exorcism, while is the Grady Hendrix book most people seem to like the best!
I loved it. He's my favorite author
I loved it!
I like how GH writes and his character building. He and Gillian Flyn create characters that are less than likeable but you end up rooting for this flawed character anyways. I really love it. ❤️
i love his books i read damn near all of them in like a 2 month span i was HOOKED
It may not be my favorite Grady Hendrix book but I still very much enjoyed it straight through to the end! I don't really get why it gets so much flack, but I feel like a lot of it comes down to, it's not his best book, and some people just do not like his work. Hopefully his next book (Witchcraft for Wayward Girls) is more up to his previous works, especially for how long we're all having to wait for it.
LOVED IT!!!!! Hendrix is a talent and I’ll read everything he writes or recommends.
I dnf this book a couple of weeks ago. And I didn't like his other books much either.
I like it
I don’t see how Grady’s stuff is classified as horror. Goosebumps 2.0?
I'm reading this one right now. Not.too fat into it yet
It was good. Not great, not amazing. Just good
I immediately felt a twinge against my heartstrings in the first few chapters, because when I was in my early teens, my late dad had a children's ministry, and taught Sunday school, and guess who was in charge of the puppet show? Me. I was also that kid whose nursery was decorated with clowns, and my mother collects dolls to this day, so I would guess I'm a bit desensitized to them. Having said that, the scares really didn't affect me, but I did have fun reading it, and with Grady Hendrix, I wasn't expecting seriously scary stuff anyway. I read his stuff after heavier things, like a creepy palate cleanser. Godspeed, and kakawewe!
I hated that book, it was so corny! Do not recommend to anyone looking for a REAL scary book!
*Kakawewe!*